


When all roads lead to home

by estranged_and_wayward



Series: throbb xmas 2019 [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A Christmas Story, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Drinking, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Grumpy neighbor stannis, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Multi, References to Sex, Sibling Bonding, Snowball Fight, all the starks are chaotic good, loving and supporting your partner, somebody save baby rickon, the direwolves reunite, walks down memory lane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21803326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estranged_and_wayward/pseuds/estranged_and_wayward
Summary: After making a promise, Robb and Theon are in charge of Christmas Eve dinner. That goes about as well as you would expect.
Relationships: (IMPLIED), Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Jon Snow/Ygritte, Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell, Shireen Baratheon/Rickon Stark, Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
Series: throbb xmas 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568641
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: A Very Throbb Christmas





	When all roads lead to home

**Author's Note:**

> Throbbmas day 2! Prompt: family gathering.  
> This one might be my favorite. Also, snowball fight #2. I don't know how it happened, but I actually wrote this one first. I like this one though, just fluff and siblings dunking on eachother but also some grieving because the holidays can be hard when your loved ones aren't there. 
> 
> And just for reference, here are the ages of all the Starks, just because I like knowing how old they are:  
> Robb:23  
> Jon:23  
> Sansa:21  
> Arya:19  
> Bran: 17  
> Rickon: 14

Theon watched from the bed as Robb fixed himself in front of the mirror. He was still messing with his hair and fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. “Do you think I should go with the sweater instead?” he asked, half turning around. 

“Well, that depends” Theon crossed his arms “Which one?” he could sense the nervousness in his boyfriend as he checked the buttons at his cuffs. 

“The red one,” Robb said. He unbuttoned the cuff, rolled up the sleeve and then rolled it back down and buttoned it again. 

“The one with the reindeer on it? I don’t care if it's only your family, I’m not going to be seen in public with you wearing  _ that _ thing.” just the thought of that yarn monstrosity made him cringe. 

“Oh come on, that sweater is not that bad,” Robb told him as he smoothed out his already perfect collar. 

“It's worse than bad,” Theon said, really just teasing him at this point. Robb still looked nervous though, Theon could see it in his eyes. He stood up off the bed, still only in his boxers and the t-shirt he’d slept in. He stood behind Robb and placed his hands on his shoulders, watching his expression in the mirror and feeling his muscles relax. 

He rested his chin on Robb’s shoulder, playing with the collar of his shirt. “Don’t worry, you look hot in this,” he whispered. Robb exhaled, placing his hand over Theon’s and practically melting into him. They stayed like that for a moment, quiet and somber while Theon watched Robb’s breathing in the mirror. 

Robb’s eyes opened, glossy and blue. “I’ll go with the shirt then,” he said. Theon nodded and pressed their lips together. He ran his hands through his auburn hair, Robb pulling Theon close and holding onto him as if he thought he might disappear.

Theon eventually pulled away, Robb’s face following at first before his eyes opened. Theon placed his hands under Robb’s chin, looking deep into those stunning blue oceans. He was trembling “Everything’s going to be fine,” he assured him. He kissed Robb’s forehead softly and slowly. “I’m gonna hop in and take a shower, then we can start heading over.” he half-whispered.

Robb nodded “Okay,” he said quietly, finally letting his boyfriend go. As Theon left the room he heard his voice again, stronger this time. “Thank you,” he said.

Theon smiled “Don’t mention it, anything to keep you out of that sweater.”

Robb gave a small laugh and an “aye you prick” as Theon stood in the doorway, adding an “I love you” after he was out of sight.

Theon peaked his head back into the bedroom, a huge grin on his face, “I love you too.” 

Later that day Robb parked the car in the empty driveway of the Stark family house. He looked up at the house looming over him. There were no lights on, nobody was inside and the snow had piled up high, only a small path leading up to the side door. It looked dark and old, a far cry from the warm, constantly noisy home that Theon remembered. Darkness had fallen over Robb’s face and he somehow looked like a little boy and an old man at the same time.

Theon took his hand across the council, squeezing it tight. He kissed his knuckles, Robb’s eyes lingering to watch him. He did the same, his lips soft over Theon’s hand. 

Without a word, they opened their doors and let Greywind out of the back seat. They followed a narrow path to the door and Robb let them in. the kitchen was dark, but Greywind ran inside, excited to be back home again. Robb sighed, his hand still in Theon’s. 

There was a layer of dust covering everything, including the stool Jon had left not pushed in by the counter the last time they had been there.  _ Fuck, that was two years ago _ Theon reflected. Had it really been that long? Since they’d last been there? Since Jon had joined the army? Since that conversation between the three of them and Sansa, standing around the counter promising they would all keep in touch? That they would make sure to still do Christmas and Easter even if Ned and Cat wouldn’t be there? How long had it been since they’d broken that promise? 

Theon felt Robb give his hand a hard squeeze before letting their fingers slowly fall apart as he switched on the light. Everything was exactly the same as it had been left. Even still, it felt like a different house. It was somehow colder than outside. It didn’t feel like the kitchen where they’d ‘helped’ Catelyn bake her famous chocolate chip cookies, argued over the answers to their homework and stolen beers from the fridge while Ned pretended not to notice. 

Now it was just a dusty room at the entrance of an empty house. Eddard had always warned that winter was coming. But he’d never imagined it would be so cold. 

Even still, Robb carried on “Help me get the stuff out of the car. We should probably start preparing everything now so dinner isn’t late.” theon helped him and they gave Sansa a call to start heading over. They were going to need her help if they wanted to have even a sliver of a chance of dinner being ready on time. She and Margaery arrived at the perfect timing, just as she always did, right when they finished organizing everything. 

“Hey, we’re here,” she called before going silent. She looked around the kitchen, her eyes deep blue as they searched for something. 

Robb was quiet for a moment before approaching her and pulling his little sister into a tight hug. She hugged him back and Theon saw that she wasn’t so little anymore. She was tall with long auburn hair that fell to her waist and big blue eyes. It was only when she hugged him and he got a closer look at her face that he realized she was the spitting image of her mother. There came the sound of barking from the living room. 

“Looks like Grey wind and Lady have reunited” Robb chuckled. 

“It’ll be nice to see all the pack together again,” Sansa said with a small grin. 

“They’re all going to go wild once Shaggy Dog gets here,” Robb said

“Yes definitely” she agreed before clapping her hands together “Now, we can talk later. We should get started on this feast if we intend on eating at some point tonight.” theon couldn’t help but smile to himself, Sansa’s similarities to Catelyn didn’t stop with her looks. 

Sansa had also seemed to inherit her mother’s cooking abilities and everything was going smoothly until Arya, Gendry and Nymeria arrived. Lady started barking the moment they pulled into the driveway, quickly followed by Greywind as they pawed at the kitchen door. They heard an echo of barks, slightly higher in pitch, coming from the other side of the door. Arya flung the door open, a stack of presents under her arm. 

"Sup bitches" she called, Gendry following close behind was another stack of boxes in his arms as the dogs circled around one another. Seeing there was no space on the table or counter, Sansa pulled out a chair and Arya placed the presents down on its seat. "Thanks," she said before her sister pulled her into a tight hug. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile. She let Sansa hold her for a moment before pulling away to share greetings with Theon and her brother. 

“Have you heard from Bran and Rickon?” Robb asked as he pulled a pan of home-made bread, his mother’s favorite recipe, out of the oven. Theon was tempted to smack his arse when he bent over but decided to restrain himself with demonstrable self-control. He was always smacking Robb's arse when they were at home, whenever he leaned or bent over just about anything Theon's hand found a way to give him a playful little, or sometimes not so little, slap. And although Robb claimed to hate it, he always stuck his arse out a little further whenever he wouldn't do it for a couple of days, like he was begging for it. But based off the look Cat had given him the one time she'd seen him, it was probably best that he kept his hands to himself. At least until they were alone, he could make up for it then. 

"Yes actually" Arya blinked, pulling out her cell phone and glancing at the screen, "Bran says they should be coming around three." She clicked through a few other messages that Gendry appeared to be reading over his shoulder. "And Jon flew in this morning." She added. 

Robb whipped around in shock "I thought he wasn't coming until later?" He said. 

"That was the original plan but I guess he managed to find an early last minute flight and Ygritte picked him up from the airport this morning. He said he was super jet-lagged though." She was very clearly trying to contain her excitement. 

"That's great news! Not about the jet lag, that sucks, but now he'll be able to get some rest before he comes over." Robb looked absolutely delighted as watched Sansa and Margaery mix together the filling for the butterscotch cinnamon pie, a Stark family classic and another favorite of their mother. 

“I’m not sure Ygritte’s letting him sleep now that he’s home.” Theon scoffed. Robb elbowed him in the ribs. “What? We’re all adults here!” 

Arya and Gendry both scoffed. “It’s still inappropriate.” Robb defended. Everybody laughed at that. “What? What’s so funny?” 

Theon and the Stark sister looked between one another. “Nothing, You just sounded like Mum for a minute there.” The younger of the two said. 

“You really did” Sansa licked a bit of pie filling off her spatula. 

Robb sighed but smiled “Yeah, maybe I did.” he admitted. There was a howl from the den. Theon lightly pinched his cheek. 

“See, even Greywind agrees” A shit-eating grin spread across his face. Robb only glared at him and pushed his hand away. “Oh c’mon babe, I’m only teasing.” 

Robb snorted “It’s fine, you’re not exactly wrong.” a blush appeared to be creeping up his neck. “I guess I do sound like Mum sometimes.” 

“Sometimes!?” Arya and Sansa gasped at the same time. 

Gendry ran his finger along the edge of the near-empty bowl and his eyes went wide when he tasted it “Holy fuck that’s delicious!” he gasped. He looked towards Sansa and her girlfriend “You guys made this?” he asked, taking another taste. 

The girls linked arms, both of them grinning from ear to ear. “We most certainly did,” Margaery said.

Theon leaned across the table and ran his fingertip along the bottom of the bowl. “Holy fuck-tits!” he took another lick “Jesus cock-sucking Christ that’s good.” 

“I’d say we did a pretty good job,” Sansa told her girlfriend, cleaning off the last bit of batter that was on her spatula. Arya joined the two older boys in scooping up the thick, sugary mixture with her hands.

“Guys, c’mon were you all raised in a barn?” Robb crossed his arms “don’t get your fingers all in the bowl”

“What does it matter, the pie’s already in the oven, this is all just extra” Theon replied.

Robb rolled his eyes but stuck his hand out to catch a drop that had gotten away from the rim of the bowl. His eyes lit up the second it touched his tongue. “Holy shit” he gasped and joined them all in licking the bowl clean. “That tastes like childhood and happiness” 

Theon smirked, it was nice to be right every once and awhile. And it was nice to see Robb starting to relax a little, he needed that little moment of sunshine on what shouldn’t have been such a cloudy day. 

Bran and Rickon arrived with their own dogs at exactly three o’clock that afternoon, signaled once again by the barking of the dogs. Shaggy Dog howled as the door opened and he and Summer ran inside to meet their siblings before their owners could even poke their noses through the doorway. 

“Ayo, we’re here,” came a voice from the doorway. It took Theon a moment to realize that voice belonged to little Rickan. Once he saw the boy he was even more shocked. He had grown much taller since he’d last seen him, he almost matched Robb in height now, and there was rust-colored hair on his cheeks. He looked almost exactly like Robb had at that age. Theon couldn’t help feeling a bit of Deja Vu as the brothers hugged.

Robb also seemed unable to believe his brother’s growth as he bombarded him with a million questions. How was school going? Did he like his teachers and friends? How was uncle Brynden? Was he walking Shaggy Dog enough? Did he need anything? And so on and on. Robb really was turning into his mother. Theon knew he couldn’t help it though. Following Bran’s accident, Robb had spent a lot of time looking after his youngest brother while their mother stayed at the hospital and their father dealt with manners at work, so he worried about the boy often. 

The fifteen-year-old answered most of the questions with apathetic annoyance. School was fine, Brynden had started giving him driving lessons, he walked Shaggy every single day rain or shine, Shireen was doing well. 

Once he said that last part Theon’s ears pricked up at that last part. “Oh, Shireen from across the street? What does Stannis Baratheon think about that?” he teased. 

Rickon’s face reddened ever so slightly “It’s not like that and he hates me.” he said.

Theon snorted “Yeah, sure. ‘Not like that’” He put up air quotes around that last part “don’t even try fooling me, I know a thing or two about secret teenage relationships between childhood best friends.” he hooked an arm around Robb’s shoulders. 

Both of the Starks reddened further. 

“Trust me, the two of you were no secret,” Rickon said as he crossed his arms. 

Arya laughed and beside her Bran nodded in confirmation. “Everybody knew” 

Theon chuckled “Well subtlety isn’t exactly a family trait for you lot.” 

Rickon rolled his eyes with gross intensity.  _ Oh god,  _ Theon though  _ when did this kid turn into me? Maybe I am a bad influence.  _

Before anyone could continue there was a knock at the door and as if on cue the dogs all began barking. A huge grin spread across Robb’s face “That must be Jon!” he said. He ran to get the door and there was the sound of hugs and laughter. The unmistakable sound of Snow’s girlfriend Ygritte’s brash laugh floated through the air, and Theon could see the half brothers hugging. Ghost ran silently into the den to join his siblings, a symphony of different barks sounding as he arrived. 

“I’m great. How are you?” 

“I’m a little jetlagged, but I’m good.”

“C’mon, everyone’s in the kitchen.” 

“Yeah, sure” he heard Jon say “Just let me take my coat off” Theon watched the smile on Robb’s face but couldn’t help but notice how intently Ygritte was watching them. 

When the brothers walked back into the kitchen the Starks tackled him in hugs and pats on the back before Ygritte came up behind him and pulled off the hat that seemed to be containing his hair. Except no hair fell out. Theon felt his eyes widen as the entire room went silent. 

Robb’s mouth hung open, his jaw on the floor “Jon..” He reached out a hand “YOU CUT YOUR HAIR!” he screamed loud enough to startle the dogs in the other room. He went to feel it and pulled his hand away. Theon didn’t think he’d ever seen Jon’s ear before. 

While all the Starks surrounded their brother, feeling his hair he tried to explain how, since he’d been in the military, he’d hard to keep it short. 

“I like it though.” Ygritte said, her hands on her hips “Doesn’t give him anything to hide behind. 

“But haven’t you missed pulling on it?” Theon asked the telltale blush on Jon’s cheeks letting him know he heard it. 

Ygritte just laughs “I’ll confess that I have.” she said “But the short hair’s growing on me. Theon nodded, satisfied with that answer. The short hair was just one more thing to get used to.

Dinner went surprisingly well. Nobody broke any dishes and there was only a mild argument over whether or not die-hard was a Christmas movie. There was a noticeable emptiness hanging over the room even though the table was crowded. And thanks to Sansa, the food was fantastic. After they had scarfed down the butterscotch-cinnamon pie they all moved to the living room, squeezing to all fit on the couches. Even still Gendry had to sit on the floor next to the sofa beside his girlfriend, Nymeria curled up beside him. Robb and Jon helped Bran into Ned’s beg recliner, even though he told them he could do it on his own. While Theon watched them he was reminded of when they were children and ned would hoist them up and throw them onto the old chairs and couches like sacks of flour. 

Robb got everyone that was old enough to drink a beer or a glass of wine, ignoring his youngest brother’s request for whiskey on the rocks. Once he finally settled down beside Theon, a conversation was already far underway. 

“I’m telling you I saw her!” Rickon insisted. 

“There’s no way that Mr. Baratheon has a mistress,” Gendry said Stannis Baratheon was the Stark’s neighbor as well as the principal of the high school. “Have you seen the guy? I’m surprised he has a wife.”

“He does!” 

“How do you know it’s his mistress and not just a friend?” Robb asked as he cracked open his beer. 

“Shireen told me.” Rickon said, “I didn’t believe it either until I saw her coming out of his bedroom.” 

“She was at his house during the day?!” Theon gasped “Was his wife there?” now this story was getting interesting. 

“No, it was at night. I saw her coming out of his room while I was sneaking in.” it took him about half a second to realize he had said too much.

Bran crossed his arms in the recliner “I knew that’s where you’ve been going Friday nights!”

“What are you doing at Shireen’s house at night?” Robb asked his baby brother.

“Correction: what are you doing that requires you to be sneaking in?” Arya said. Sansa and Margaery just sipped their wine and looked at each other. 

“Oh come on!” Rickon exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “It’s not like I haven’t caught all of you guys doing way worse!” Theon couldn’t believe it, baby Rickon had a girlfriend. A girlfriend that was the principal’s daughter. A girlfriend that he had to  _ sneak out  _ to go see. Rickan set his sights on his closest brother “Besides Bran, should I tell them about you and Jojen?” 

Bran’s eyes widened and he leaned forward in his chair, “What the hell? That was supposed to be a secret!” huh, Bran too. 

“A secret, you guys are more obvious than Robb and Theon” Arya laughed. 

Sansa shrugged “So three out of six, what are the odds?” Theon had to toast her for that one. 

“And you guys were so fucking obvious” Jon added. 

Theon turned to Robb, unable to disagree "Oh remember when we used to have to babysit Rickon and we'd always try and distract him so we could make out?" he said, swirling his beer bottle. 

"Yes of course, how could I forget?" Robb laughed.

"That's why you always had him over whenever you had to watch me!?" The youngest Stark asked half horrified.

"and you'd always be so close to catching us too," Robb said.

Theon nodded "We would hear your footsteps coming down the stairs and he would throw me across the couch!" He laughs.

"You two are disgusting," Arya said as she stuck out her tongue.

Sansa smacked her arm beside her "You're no better" she reminded her. She looked between Gendry and her sister "Remember when I caught the two of you making out in the shower?" 

"Oh come on, that was four years ago!" Gendry exclaimed, his face flushing a bright pink. 

"At least we both had our clothes on!" Arya hissed. She glared at her sister and her girlfriend "Unlike when I saw you two in the back of the car on Easter." 

Sansa and Margaery both blushed as everyone in the room broke out into shock."You were supposed to keep that a secret!"

"Well so were you!"

"In the  _ car!? _ "

"On Easter?"

"Wait was this in the driveway or in the garage?" 

Theon laughed the loudest of all "How the fuck did I not know about this?!" He cackled "damn in the car on Easter, that's a good one." 

Sansa tried to dodge all the questions and jeers coming at her "Well how about Jon and Ygritte in the bathroom at prom? That was something else." 

Ygritte clapped her hands together and tossed her head back "Yes that was awesome!" She cried. Beside her, Jon looked like he wanted to curl up in a hole and die. 

"Ah yes, how could I forget." Theon leaned against the back of the couch 

"Oh sod off" Jon spat. Without his hair in his face, you could really see just how red he got. 

"What it's not like it's a secret. Half the school heard you two" Theon's laughter was drowned out by Ygritte's. 

"Ha! Maybe you did know a few things, Jon Snow" 

“Hey how about we talk about something else?” Jon said pleading “Anything else, literally anything” 

“How about we decide what movie to watch?” Robb suggested. It was tradition that after dinner on Christmas eve the Starks watch a movie. “I say A Christmas Story.” yup there it was, the other half of the tradition. 

“No, let’s watch Bad Santa” 

“No, Charlie Brown Christmas”

“What about The Santa Clause?” 

“Isn’t that the one where Tim Allen is forced into being Santa?” 

“Pretty sure.”

"Remember when uncle Benjin came over dressed up as Santa?" Jon said with a small smile.

"Wait that was Benjin?" Rickon gasped in utter shock. 

“Yeah, he and dad planned it for weeks,” Robb laughed. Rickon looked absolutely baffled “They would send letters to each other in shorthand and morse code so that we wouldn’t know what they were planning.” 

“No fucking way!” Rickon scoffed. 

“No actually, its true,” Jon said casually, “He told us a few Christmases ago.”

Theon smiled at the thought, though he couldn’t help but remember.  _ Three Christmases ago.  _ “He did.” he nodded. “It was the most convoluted shit I’ve ever heard.” 

“I believe it,” Arya said, “It does sound like something he would do.” 

Sansa giggled “It really does.” 

“I found one of the letters once,” Bran said 

“What did it say?” Robb asked and took a sip of his beer. 

“Just that uncle Benjin needed to get a new beard because he lost it.” 

Robb nearly spat out the ale. “Yup, sounds like Benjin,” Jon said, laughter filling the room once more. 

“Sounds like something Ned would have done too honestly,” Theon added. Everyone seemed to agree as both Stark and Non-Stark began shouting about other stories revolving around Ned’s antics. 

“Remember when he gathered up all of us in the back of a pick-up and filled it with leaves?” 

“Oh what about when he ate an entire box of dog treats before he realized that they weren’t cookies.” 

“Or when Mum found his asleep on the couch surrounded by all the dogs after he told us that they were our responsibility.” 

“How about when he spent an hour looking for his glasses and they were on his head?” 

“What about when he tipped over the canoe”

“Oh remember when he first got an iPhone and I had to give him a crash course on emojis” 

“Remember when he got stuck in a tree trying to get me down but then he got stuck and we had to call the fire department”

“What about when Catelyn decided that you guys should have a swear jar and he ended up filling it to the brim while he was trying to fix his car” 

They were all hooting and shouting tales new and old before silence slowly fell over the room. All the cheer was gone as they all seemed to remember that there wouldn’t be any more new stories about Ned Stark. 

“I miss him,” Rickon said, "and mum". His entire body seemed to feel the words as they came out of his mouth, his shoulders slumping and his eyes going glossy. He was almost fifteen now, tall and with stubble on his chin, Ned would have taught him to shave by now, but he looked like a little boy asking when Daddy would be home from his business trip. 

Robb smiled in a way that looked like he would have rather been crying. “Me too buddy, me too,” he said, placing a hand on Rickon’s back. It was comforting, but he wasn’t sure who for. 

“So much.” came Sansa’s voice like a ghost from across the living room. Beside her, Arya laid her head on her shoulder. 

“So fucking much.” she whimpered. She didn’t sound like Arya Stark then, just like her brother she sounded like a little girl that wanted her father to give her a bandage for her scraped knees. She’d always taken more after Ned than the others, she could probably only see his eyes when she looked in the mirror. 

Jon took a slow sip from his beer bottle “Every single day,” he said. He looked cold, even with the fire burning. Just as he had sitting in the front pew beside Robb at the funeral, except now he didn’t have his long curly hair falling over his face. The short hair was going to take a lot of getting used to. Ygritte wrapped her arms over his shoulders like she was trying to keep him warm. 

All Bran had to say was “yeah” because there was nothing else to be said. 

Theon took Robb’s free hand. He was trembling. And for a rare moment, there was total silence in the Stark household. Even the glow of the fire seemed to dull and the dogs didn’t make a sound. The light from the Christmas tree painted across the walls of the den and they could hear the wind whipping against the windows. Winter really was here now, and it was colder than anyone had ever imagined. A million Tully blue and Stark black eyes were glued to the fire. The burning embers seemed to be all that was keeping the room alive. Robb held on to Theon’s hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white. 

With a slowness as if Ned and Catelyn were watching, Theon kissed the back of Robb’s hand. Robb looked at him like he wanted to fall into his arms, completely fall apart for a minute and not even have to pretend to be alright. But he couldn’t, not now, right now he had to play the strong older brother. But his eyes said that he wanted to hide behind his mother’s skirt for a while or curl up in the lap of his father’s armchair. 

Upon looking around the room, all the Starks looked like little kids waiting for their parents to get home so they could have Christmas dinner. For a moment Theon’s eyes met Ygritte’s. She missed them too he knew, and so did he. She probably held Jon when darkness fell late at night just as he did Robb, running her hand through his hair while he listened to her heartbeat. He looked between her and Margaery, and Gendry, who was holding Arya’s hand from his spot on the floor beside the couch. They both did the same he knew, it was just part of loving a Stark. 

Gendry raised his beer off the carpet, causing Theon and Ygritte to do the same, and Margaery with her wine glass. The Starks all followed, raising their drinks in shaky hands high in the air. 

“To Mum and Dad,” Robb said. All the Starks echoed the sentiment, and “To Ned and Cat” for all the Non-Starks. Then, as if on cue, all the dogs howled in perfect synch. Everyone laughed and downed their drinks. The thick winter fog seemed to fade from the den, although the laughter was funeral. The fire was growing warm again as Robb laid his head on Theon shoulder, snuggling into him even if only for a brief moment. 

"Alright so are we watching A Christmas Story or what?" Robb said, the smile returning to his face as he sat up. All his siblings groaned.

"Really? Fuckin'  _ A Christmas Story _ ?"

"We watch that every year!"

"That movie's so boring!" 

"Oh god not again"

"Can't we watch Charlie Brown Christmas instead?" 

"No what are you guys on about, Christmas story is tradition!" 

"Oh fuck off" 

"Its a good movie!"

"We've all seen in 15 million times!"

"I've seen it sixteen million" 

"That's physically impossible"

"Shut up Bran" 

"I'm just saying, that's not how time works, but go off." 

While the Starks bickered Theon slid off the sofa and put the disk in, make sure to grab the remote. 

"Oh, Theon you prick!" Jon cried as he took back his seat beside Robb. 

"What? What did he do?" Arya asked, having been too enthralled in the discussion to notice anything else.

"He put the DVD in while you guys were arguing," Bran said. 

"Oh hush up, you joined in." Arya snapped back at him. 

"I never said I didn't." Bran defended.

Robb put his hands up in the air "Alright, alright, as the oldest I order you all to shut the fuck up." He said, pretending to be annoyed. 

"Isn't Theon technically the oldest?" Rickan asked, more just to be a pain than anything. 

"Yeah, but Robb's in charge because the house would have burned down if we let Theon call the shots." Said Jon. Ygritte broke out into a fit of laughter beside him. 

"Wow, have a little faith Snow" Theon jived.

"Well if the shoe fits…" Jon leaned forward in his seat and all the Starks made noises of 'Ooooh shit he got 'im'.

Theon slumped back and crossed his arms "I never said it wasn't true, but it would have taken at least a day." Beside him, Robb laughed.

"Theon I love you but it would have taken six and a half minutes." He took a sip from his beer bottle to keep from laughing.

"Its crazy how love can blind you, it would have taken four minutes tops," Margaery said. Sansa nearly spat out a mouthful of wine beside her. She coughed and sputtered, all the others laughing as the opening credits began to roll.

“Remember when Jon choked on communion wine?” Rickon said, a smile lighting his face. 

“Oh yeah,” Robb said with a nod, turning to his half brother “It came out your nose!” 

“That was all your fault!” He shouted in fake anger but real embarrassment “You kept whispering jokes in my ear!” he pointed a finger at Robb accusingly. Beside him, Ygritte was laughing so hard she had to hold onto the arm of the couch. 

“ _ MY _ fault!?” Robb gasped, offended. 

“Yeah, it's your fault I had to clean the church’s carpet!” Jon said, pushing himself off the sofa. 

Robb smirked and stood up “That was not my fault!” he said, his eyes locked on Jon’s.

“Yes. it. Was.” Jon said. With a quick glance at Ygritte, Theon saw she was absolutely losing it.

“Hey, I offered to help” Robb defended. 

“But ya’ didn’t !” Jon said 

As if on cue Arya, Gendry and Rickon started pounding their fits and chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!” 

“Oh, you wanna go!?” Robb asked, stepping closer. 

Jon walked forward and shoved Robb in the chest “Let’s fucking go Stark.” he said.

“It’s on Snow” Robb’s eyes bore into Jon’s, both of them trying not to burst into a fit of laughter. Around them all the Starks and their partners were picking sides, chanting and pumping their fists for either Robb or Jon. 

“Let’s take this outside,” Jon said. 

“Dad always said not to fight in the house.” Robb agreed. They shook hands and headed out to the porch, the rest of the Stark clan following suite. None of them even bothered with jackets of scarves, something Theon knew Cat would have scolded them for. 

“Get him, Babe!” Ygritte shouted as the boys- no, actually they were men now, circled each other. 

“Kick his ass, Robb!” Theon called. 

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Bran and Sansa had joined in on the chanting. Margaery had grabbed a bottle of wine on the way out and they were passing it around.

Robb and Jon jumped on each other, shoved and swearing and trying to force one another to the ground. Theon and Ygritte screamed and shouted obscenities at their boyfriends. Though Jon’s training had made him stronger and he quickly pinned Robb to the ground. 

“DO YOU YIELD!?” Jon shouted, struggling to hold Robb down as he kicked and squirmed beneath him. Instead of answering, he spat in Jon’s face and turned the tables on him. In the chaos, Rickon took a long slick of the wine, shouting as he watched his oldest brothers fight like two stupid kids on the floor of the porch. 

Once they got back on their feet, Robb pined Jon’s arm behind his back. “Do you yield?!” he half-shouted. Neither of them could contain their smiles at that point. 

“Never!” Jon shouted and pushed himself backward until Robb was trapped between him and the wall of the house. 

“Oh, you prick!” Robb shouted. He somehow managed to get free and they continued wrestling back and forth. The other Starks and their significant others were losing it, pounding their fists and chanting. Eventually, Robb managed to pin Jon to the ground with a knee on his back. He attempted to grab a handful of his hair and was again surprised by how short it was. “Do you yield?” he asked again, his voice almost calm even though he was out of breath. 

“Fuck you!” Jon told him. Robb got his arm and held it behind his back again. He held it tight enough to keep it there without hurting him.

“Do you yield?” he asked again. “DO YOU YIELD JON SNOW?!” 

“C’mon baby get up!” Ygritte called. “I’ve seen you beat him before! Now get up you pussy!” 

“Well, I’ve seen Robb beat Snow a hundred times!” Theon shouted at her across the porch. “Have you seen those muscles, goddamn!” he added for good measure. 

“Oh please, you clearly haven’t seen Snow’s lately” she snorted back at him. “They’re bigger than me head!” 

“Gendry why don’t you get in there, prove how tough you are?” Arya teased. 

Gendry shook his head. “This seems like a brothers’ quarrel, don’t think I should get involved.” 

“Pansy!” Theon jeered. 

Gendry blinked hard a few times and crossed his arms “Greyjoy why do you jump in then?” 

“I’m just enjoying the view,” Theon smirked. 

Robb’s voice came again through clenched, half whispering though everyone heard “Do you yield?” Jon struggled but said nothing. Robb took that as confirmation and stood up, keeping his foot on his half brother’s back. He raised his arms in glory. 

“The King in the North!” Theon shouted. Just like when they were kids, that was the ‘title’ the brothers always wrestled over. 

“The King in the North!”

“The King in the North!” 

“The King in the North!” everyone except Ygritte was shouting. The celebration was so great that Robb didn’t even notice Jon slowly rising. 

“I never yielded” Jon murmured before tackling Robb so hard and so fast that they both went flying off the porch and landed in the knee-deep snow. 

“YEAH!!” Ygritte shouted “That’s my man!” she hopped over the railing and landed kneeling in the snow, cheering all the while. She packed together a huge snowball and hurled it at Robb, hitting him square in the forehead and sending him backward. 

Theon gasped, angered and threw himself from the ledge, hurling a snowball a Ygritte as soon as he landed. He chucked another one at Jon as they were celebrating, Robb suddenly cheering him on. 

“SNOWBALL FIGHT!” Rickon shouted, flinging himself ever the railing so fast he sent up a volcano of white around him. Arya followed him, not hesitating to start hurling snowballs in every direction. Sansa and Margaery thundered down the stairs, backing each other up as they defended against an assault from Arya and Gendry. Even Bran managed to roll out of his wheelchair and land with a plop in the snowbank. He might not have been able to walk, but the kid sure could throw. They were all laughing and shouting, covered in snow and having ruined their nice Christmas clothes. 

Theon chucked a snowball Rickon then, finding that Robb was right behind him, turned him around and kissed him ferociously. Robb laughed at first but quickly kissed back, pushing his tongue past Theon’s lips. They were so into it that they couldn't even be bothered to notice that Jon was doing the same with Ygritte.

“Ew! Get a room!” Arya jeered, throwing an armful of snowballs at them with rapid-fire speed. 

Robb and Theon both looked at each other, smiled and packed together a huge ball of snow that needed both of them to lift it. "Three...two…" they swung it back in forth in the desired direction and then with a shout of "One!" It went flying through the air, almost in slow motion smashed overtop of the opposing couple. 

"Suck on that Snow!" Theon jeered, Robb hooting like a wild animal beside him. Theon tackled him into the snowbank, attacking his face with sloppy kisses all over. Robb laughed and held him tight. His shirt was soaking wet and his hair was a disaster but Theon had never seen him happier. This was the Robb Stark he knew. All around him were the Starks he knew. There was nothing but shouting and laughing and swearing from all of them. Bran and Rickan were making and sending off snowballs so fast Theon almost thought they were cheating. Arya had practically buried poor Gendry up to his neck in snow. The wine bottle had been lost somewhere among them, most definitely empty by now. Just as Jon was wading through the snow with a mountain in his hands there was a shout from across the road. 

"BE QUIET WILL YOU! It'S CHRISTMAS EVE AND SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" 

Everyone stopped in their tracks as they looked across the street to see Stannis Baratheon standing in his bathrobe on his own deck looking less than pleased. Okay, maybe a lot less than pleased. They all grimaced and exchanged looks before Robb called out a "Sorry sir" from under Theon. 

"Merry Christmas Mr. Baratheon" Sansa added awkwardly. 

"Just be quiet!" Stannis growled before going back inside. 

There was a moment of awkward silence, nobody moving as they sat there in the snow. Then Rickan started laughing. And so did Arya. And Robb. And Theon. And then Jon and Ygritte, and then and Gendry and Sansa and Margaery. Even Bran started cracking up. 

"God, mum would have killed us!" Robb said through laughter, Theon straddling him. 

"But Dad would have been proud." Arya pointed out. And they all laughed again. Like a bunch of children, they laughed until it hurt, none of them bothering to even try and stop.

Eventually, they all picked each other up off the now tightly packed snow and went back inside, finding that the house was warmer than before. A Christmas Story was still playing in the living room since nobody had bothered to pause it so they all settled back into their places and allowed all their worries to be how Flick was going to get his tongue unstuck from the flagpole. After a few minutes, Robb leaned up against Theon, nuzzling him warmly. For the first time that day he felt Robb relax, the breath he'd been holding in since he'd woken up finally pushing out his lips. Things were different now for sure, Christmas would never be the same for the Starks again, but he looked around the room Theon knew that everything was going to be alright. Though winter would always come, their home would be warm. And warm it would stay, no matter the winds, nor the endless snow. There would always be a fire in the hearth and laughter in the halls. Who knows, maybe that was Ned and Cat. 


End file.
